Manufacturers urged to undertake energy audits to save up to 30pc

Wakiaga notes energy efficiency is not only good for a company’s bottom line but has a direct impact on the environment/MOSES MUOKI

By MARGARET WAHITO, NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 30 –The Kenya Association of Manufacturers has urged organizations to undertake energy audits that will assist in the efficient utilization of power.

KMA CEO Phyllis Wakiaga says the audits are aimed at identifying high power usage areas in a company with the aim of bringing down the cost of power.

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She says companies which have undertaken audits have managed to bring down their cost of power by over 30 percent.

“We encourage industries to take advantage of the energy audits and to invest in implementing the findings of these audits. For example, it can identify that an equipment you have been using is probably obsolete and needs upgrading. And we have had companies investing in new equipment which has made them more competitive, more efficient and their return on investments is quite good,” she said in an interview with Capital FM Business.

At the moment at least 700 organisations in the country have been audited including large companies, government institutions as well as SMEs.

She notes energy efficiency is not only good for a company’s bottom line but has a direct impact on the environment.

“We live in very interesting times, there is a lot of climate change happening and part of the reason is in the use of power and the sources of energy that we use. If we are more energy efficient, our economy can grow, but also grow in a very green way. Meaning that our Carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced.,” she said.

She was speaking ahead of the Energy Management Awards (EMA) to be held on Friday. EMA aims to publicly recognize enterprises that have made major and sustainable gains in energy efficiency through the application of modern energy management principles and practices.

The nominees are required to demonstrate significant cost saving from energy management practices.